Scarlet Vision | Twisted Wonderland

now he's thinkin' 'bout me every night, oh (is it that sweet? I guess so)

"Red... Red..." Deuce repeated to himself over and over, clenching his eyes shut as he waved his magic pen over the white flowers. He was terrified of messing up everyone's hard work and wanted to make sure he did this right.

It wasn't fair to ask [Name] to use their powers again to paint the roses red. He had stopped Ace and Cater from doing the same, and even Grim had relented after [Name] gently reminded him that a great magician like himself should be able to paint the roses with his own magic.

Deuce peeked through one eyelid to see that the roses from his bush were now a perfect shade of red. He fully opened his eyes and sighed in relief. [Name] softly patted him on the back, and he turned to look at them, his face turning red as they smiled at him in approval. Deuce quickly turned his head away, clearing his throat, but he couldn't help the small smile that crept onto his face when he heard them giggling.

Nearby, Ace was muttering to himself as he painted another bush. "I can't believe we're doing this again. All this because of a tart..."

"You know, the roses are looking pretty good," [Name] commented, glancing around at their work.

Deuce, feeling more confident now, moved on to another bush, his magic pen flicking with precision. "It's not so bad once you get the hang of it."

"Better than the first time when you couldn't do it," Cater chimed in teasingly, breaking the moment between Deuce and [Name]. What the two didn't notice was the hint of envy in Cater's eyes, wishing that [Name] would smile at him like that.

"Cater!" Deuce's face turned into a tomato, mortified that Cater had embarrassed him in front of [Name], his sort-of crush.

"Anyone can do this after how much you put us through," Ace cut in, waving his paintbrush around sassily. His comment served as Deuce's saving grace, and though Deuce would never say it out loud, he felt a surge of gratitude toward him as Cater burst out laughing.

[Name] glanced over at Grim, who was diligently turning the roses red, better than before. "At least Grim seems to be doing fine."

"Yeah, this for sure went better than yesterday," Deuce sighed, rubbing the back of his neck and shrugging his shoulders. The tension from his earlier embarrassment seemed to melt away.

Cater laughed, though it had a slightly forced edge to it. "You guys did great. Seriously, thanks for helping out again. I owe you all."

Ace rolled his eyes. "Just make sure we don't have to do this a third time, Cater."

"Only if you don't steal another tart." Cater jabbed back.

Grim, still working diligently, puffed up his chest. "I, the Great Grim, am a natural at this now! No rose is safe from my magic!" [Name] giggled at his declaration and made a mental note to give him a treat later.

[Name] chuckled, patting Grim on the head. "You're doing a great job, Grim." Grim purred as they turned to the last bush to paint. "Final bush." [Name] commented with a proud and relieved smile, waving their hand as the white roses were painted red.

"And we are finished!" Ace shouted in relief, tossing his paintbrush somewhere behind him, not caring where it landed. He was just glad the group was finally done with painting these stupid flowers.

"Nyah! I hated this! It so wasn't easy even if I made it look easy!" Grim exclaimed, huffing as he jumped into [Name]'s arms. They caught the feline with ease, used to his sudden movements.

Cater pulled out his phone, checking the time, and grinned. "And with time to spare! Thx, guys!"

Ace huffed and turned to the third year. "So how does it look, Cater? We are so not redoing it again, so you better love it! No redos! No refunds!"